Benji303, Nesbit, Owen Acid & Dixie – AER 005.2 (Audio Eargasm)

Benji303’s tracks are usually marked by a healthy respect for Acid Techno’s beginnings, and though I’ve always liked the results I sometimes felt they lacked the kind of heaviness you’d want for a here-and-now 303 throwdown. Here, though, his old skool custodianship is employed to phatter-than-usual effect, producing what for me is his best tune yet, in Crunch. Likewise, Jared Blyth, aka Nesbit, is on a roll. Bitta Rough brims with confidence, featuring the kind of brooding riff that lurks in shadows in alleyways, building beautifully, speeding up, slowing down, and an acid line, like a psychotic dog, twisting at its feet.

Meanwhile Fuck Regretamine by Owen Acid & Dixie is a blast. The drums roll, and the acid has a great old-skool arcade feel. (Which reminds me, I never got round to reviewing Soitiz 004, which is unforgiveable because it’s a cracking release, with Owen Acid’s Swift Assault a total highlight.) Back to Audio Eargasm 005.2 and Step 3 rounds out the EP with two acid lines, once low and growling, one high and persistent, and a drop at around the 4.30 mark that’s an absolute beaut.

Get it from: Audio Eargasm at Bandcamp

Convection Criminals, Owen Acid, Jye Feelgood, Nesbit – Analogue Juice Extraction EP (AER02)

An excellent second helping from AER records (their first is reviewed here). It’s all good, but for me a standout is Jye Feelgood’s Acid Swamp where I’m even prepared to forgive the ‘kiss my acid’ sample because the rest of it is so frickin’ good. With a loose feel, like it’s about to come apart at the seams any second, and 303 so deliciously stewed you can taste it, it’s like, if Rob Zombie made acid techno records he’d probably make this one.

Fajita Swing by Convection Criminals is another highlight. It’s got all the roll and bounce you’d expect from anything involving Fil Devious (Convection Criminals is him and Gav Feedback), as well as a vocal sample from The Big Lebowski that the Criminals have had the wit and style to mess with till it’s all pulled out of shape. The result is a track with proper tension and depth. As Nesbit, Jared Blyth’s Prephaser builds from a restrained, grid-friendly opening until a breakdown around the 4.15 mark when the acid fireworks into life, and Owen Acid’s Naughty Control mixes up hard, reverb-heavy drums with an old skool acid line and a masterly, fuzzed-up breakdown at 3.40. In all, cracking stuff.

Get it from: Audio Eargasm at Bandcamp